Reducing Traffic

Getting stuck in traffic is no fun. But excessive traffic doesn't just affect drivers. From the million children affected by asthma to the communities severed by dangerous roads, too much traffic harms us all.

Too much traffic is bad for our:

Health: Five people are killed each day on our roads, and 59 seriously injured. Air pollution, much of it from traffic, causes tens of thousands of UK deaths per year. And heavy traffic discourages many people - adults and children - from healthy activities such as cycling or playing outside.

Communities: Busy roads are intimidating, hard to cross and divisive, cutting communities in half. Heavy traffic keeps us indoors, meaning we are less likely to know our neighbours and feel a sense of community. Car-dependent developments, such as out-of-town shopping centres, contribute to the decline of our high streets. Traffic noise harms our quality of life.

What's needed to reduce traffic

At Campaign for Better Transport, we aim to reduce traffic in all of the work that we do. We know that traffic can be reduced if we can persuade those in power to:

Reduce the need to travel: Traffic builds up when workplaces, shops, schools and services are built far from where people live. Through better planning, we can create compact, mixed-use towns and cities where people can walk, cycle or catch the bus to the places they need to go. As well, technology such as teleconferencing can reduce the need for business travel.

Stop building roads: Research has shown time and again that building new roads generates more traffic. We're calling for greener, cheaper alternatives to road-building.

Encourage travel plans: Workplace travel plans... school travel plans... station travel plans... when organisations plan for people to reach them without driving it can significantly reduce the traffic on our roads.

Tax motoring more fairly: Between 1997 and 2014, the cost of motoring fell by 11% while bus and rail fares increased by much more. Taxes and congestion charges could encourage people to drive less (or to choose smaller, cleaner cars) but this is only fair where we have decent, affordable alternatives to driving.